Lighting for different surfaces

Over the years, photographers have developed specific lighting setups that work well with different subject surfaces. These set-ups, sometimes called lighting 'schema', provide a good starting point when lighting a difficult subject in the studio.

Figure 24.7 The textural qualities of both the blocks themselves and the greater assemblage are emphasized by skimming strong directional light across the surface of the subject. In this way, the shadow provides the sense of texture, but be careful, if the shadow is too dark and not lightened with a reflector or a second weaker light, little or no detail will be seen here.